Sharps
by Yellow Sunflower
Summary: Cody wakes up in the middle of the night on the TDWT plane. And strangely enough, he hears someone playing the piano. NoCo.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own TDWT, but man, wouldn't that be flippin' sweet?**

* * *

Cody yawned as he awoke from his light sleep. It was the third time that night he had woken up. Trying to get a good night's sleep on an airplane wasn't the easiest thing to do. Just when Cody thought that Chris had exhausted all of his ideas for a new way to torture the group of teens, he came up with the idea of a third season, Total Drama World Tour. Cody figured that he could probably handle just one more season. He had made a lot of friends through the show, and with rumors that there was a new girl joining the group that had a huge crush on him, he was sure that it wouldn't be _too_ bad. But then Chris announced that they would, along with compete in challenges, break out into song numbers at spontaneous moments during the show. While Cody wasn't that bad of a singer, he didn't feel comfortable singing on television where millions of people could see every episode. And on top of that, Sierra was an obsessive stalker who knew way too much about his personal life.

So things weren't starting off too well. Big deal, thought Cody. He was always one to be optimistic in sticky situations. But with Sierra hugging his waist even as they were sleeping didn't brighten the situation. Cody carefully pried Sierra off of him so he could stand and stretch. He didn't think he was going to get anymore sleep that night. He walked to the back of the low class section of the plane to use the bathroom. After he went in and was just about to pull down his zipper, he remembered that the bathroom was the new location of the confessional. Suddenly, he didn't need to go as much anymore, and exited the bathroom as quickly as possible.

As he was walking back to his seat to try and fall back into an uneasy sleep, his ears picked up something coming from the back of the plane. He stopped and tried to keep his breath as quiet as possible to make sure that he wasn't just imagining it. He definitely heard it: notes on the piano. He lowered his eyebrows in concentration as he turned back towards the back of the plane and walked towards where the music was coming from.

He remembered that when Chris was showing them where his quarters were, there was a baby grand piano sitting against one wall. But Cody doubted that Chris was the kind of guy with the patience to learn an instrument. Neither did Chef. So if no one else was allowed back there, where was the music coming from?

The curtain to Chris's quarters was closed. Cody quietly moved it an inch aside. He saw a familiar brunette seated at the piano bench, his back towards Cody, allowing him to enter completely unnoticed. Something about him playing a musical instrument seemed unusual. But Noah _was_ labeled a child prodigy, so why wouldn't he be able to play the piano? But something else seemed strange to Cody. Noah, to everyone else, at least, was very reserved, sarcastic, and didn't let anyone see any vulnerability that he might have had. But now, Cody knew that Noah thought he was alone. And since he was alone, it seemed like Noah was pouring every ounce of feeling into the piece, and every single note came from his soul, as clichéd as it sounded.

Cody walked a few steps closer to Noah, wanting to be closer to… to the music. Yes, closer to the music, Cody told himself, because it was so beautiful. Noah stopped. Cody was almost afraid that he had actually said that out loud, he couldn't remember. He took a step backwards in case Noah would turn around and see him. He could make a quick dash back to his seat and allow Sierra to return to hugging him, pretending he had never seen anything.

But Noah soon returned to the keys, playing a particularly high pitched and soft part of the piece. **(A/N: The song is _Not While I'm Around _from Sweeny Todd. Please listen to it when you get a chance. ^-^) **Cody took a step closer, and then another step, until he was inches behind Noah, staring down at his idly moving fingers. He was so immersed in the piece that he still hadn't noticed Cody behind him. Then the notes got softer until they could no longer be heard. Noah noticed Cody in the corner of his eye.

"Ngh!" Noah jumped. "What are you doing in here?" he hissed.

"I should be asking you the same question," Cody replied. "You're going to get in huge trouble if Chris finds you back here."

Noah shrugged a shoulder. "He and Chef are both in the cockpit. There's no way they can hear at the other end of the plane."

"So why did you come in here?" Cody asked.

"Well, I couldn't sleep," Noah turned back to the piano and trailed his fingers lazily over the ivory keys. "And I remembered the piano." He sat staring at the keys for a moment longer. He looked at Cody again before returning to the keys. Noah slid over on the bench and patted the spot beside him before playing again. Cody figured that was the best invitation he was going to get out of Noah, so he sat down silently.

"It's already tuned and everything," Noah said, still playing. "Funny, I wouldn't imagine Chris to be classy enough to know how to play." Cody smiled at the common thought they shared.

"You're really good," Cody said. Noah didn't say anything in return, but Cody saw a proud smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Despite being almost complete opposites, Noah and Cody shared the same thoughts a lot of the time; he noticed both seasons before. _We're best friends, why wouldn't we?_ A voice said in Cody's head. But that didn't quite hit the nail on the head. He looked at Noah, trying to figure out how to better explain things. His head was tilted down in concentration, his brunette hair falling to the side of his face. It looked really –no, he was not about to think this.

"So that new girl Sierra has taken quite the liking to you, hm?" Noah said.

Cody smiled pathetically. "So you noticed too?"

"Well, now, it isn't exactly inconspicuous," Noah replied. "It isn't brain surgery, honey." Noah stumbled over a sharp note, but then continued playing in perfect pitch. "Are you enjoying all the attention?"

"Not at all," Cody looked up at the ceiling. Noah played another sharp unintentionally. Cody pretended not to notice. "It's sorta strange, all the stuff she knows about me. I don't want to hurt her feelings or anything, but I already like someone else, so I –"

"Gwen?" Noah asked, looking at the keys.

Cody was stuck between keeping up the public charade that he had built over two seasons and revealing the private truth to his closest friend. Noah was his closest friend, he realized. He looked at Noah. Cody wanted to be more than Noah's friend. He wanted to hold the hands that had just played a beautiful song, he wanted to touch the hair that had fallen in Noah's face, and he wanted to kiss the lips that had spoken to him the most in the last few minutes. And how was any of that going to happen if he kept lying? It wasn't going to do anything drastic just yet, but hey, it was a start.

"No," Cody finally answered. "No, not Gwen." Noah played a few more flat notes.

"Are you okay? You keep, um, messing up," Cody pointed out.

"I'm just tired, that's all," Noah said in a tone that was strangely not annoyed. He stood up from the piano bench and walked towards the curtain that lead to the lower class section of the plane. "Night." And he was gone before Cody could say the same.

* * *

**As soon as I saw the baby grand piano in Chris's space, I knew it was going to turn into a story. Heck to the yes.  
You might have noticed a pattern to Noah's mistakes...  
Not sure if I like the ending yet. I also tried a different point of veiw (3rd person limited, Cody). Let me know if it worked or not. Also, tell me anything I can work on: getting into character, language, direct and indrect-ness, even humor. I love feedback, and I read every single comment, even if I don't reply.**


	2. THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER

**Yes, I know.**

**THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER.**

**But I got so many reveiws saying, "OMGOSH CONTINUE THIS!"  
So this is just an announcement saying:**

**I AM CONTINUING.**

***hugs self* EEEEEEE!  
*ahem*  
I have more ideas to keep this going for at least 3 chapters.  
Not very long, I know.  
But it's something. And I like writing "something".**

Thanks everyone who reveiwed/critiqued/favortie-ed/subscribed!  
You guys make me smile!

^^ Just like that.  
But it's more like this:  
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D


	3. Chapter 2

**I don't own TDI/A/WT, but if I did, I would have not had Noah hug Bridget in the newest episode. That was just... weird. Hear that, Noah? I'm onto you!**

* * *

"Ngh!" Noah jerked himself awake. He was having a dream, but now it was slipping out of his memory. Eh, it didn't matter. He looked around for a clock anywhere on the plane with no avail. Then again, he thought, why would there be something as useful as a clock on this death trap called a plane?

Noah rubbed his eyes and sighed. No falling back to sleep now. At least it would give him an excuse to play the baby grand piano again. Noah had one at home, but it was nowhere near as nice as this one. And he loved to play, almost as much as he loved to read. He stood up, cracked his back, and checked to see if Chris and Chef were in the cockpit again like they were the night before. They had fallen asleep, sitting with their feet propped us against the control. Chris wasn't getting much use out of his private, high-class living quarters. That was fine with Noah; yet another excuse to play that piano.

On the way to the back of the plane, he passed through the nicer part of the plane, where the winners of that day's challenge got to stay. Just as he entered, he saw obsessive fangirl Sierra shifting in her sleep. She wrapped her arms around Cody's waist and pulled him closer to her.

Noah glared in the dark at her. Japan had not been… happy go-go celebration fun time. His mind flashed to a scene he had witnessed earlier that day during the first challenge. Cody, stumbling out of a giant pinball with traces of Sierra's lip-gloss all over his face. Sierra, picking him up and pulling his head close to her chest. Then they were alone together _again _to make their commercial. Sierra had even revealed that her biggest aspiration in life was to marry Cody. Noah's eyes narrowed at her even more.

More shifting. Even in his sleep, Cody was pulling away from his stalker. Noah couldn't help a smile from tugging at his mouth as he gazed at the brunette softly. At least the feelings weren't mutual, Noah told himself. Cody's optimism was rubbing off on him. He crossed the room and as he was standing in the doorway, he heard a whisper from behind him:

"Noah?"

He already knew who it was.

Without turning around, Noah mumbled back, "Well, are you coming or what?"

He quickly jumped up and walked over to Noah. Cody grinned at him. Even though he thought it was so damn adorable, Noah managed to remain stoic. They walked in silence to Chris's room and sat down at the piano.

"Y'know, I never would have thought that you played the piano," Cody said as Noah played some scales to warm up.

"Why?"

"Well, I always thought that all you did was read." Cody added, "And make sarcastic remarks."

Noah laughed. A genuine laugh. That happened a lot around Cody. Very out of character for him. "You're very naïve," Noah said, looking down at the keys, "to think that everyone is who they are on the outside."

That last comment left them in silence, save for the music. Noah felt weird now without the banter between the two. Had he said something wrong?

Ugh, stop it, Noah. You're being too over observant, he thought. Focus. He went through a mental list of what was in his repertoire, and tried to avoid looking at Cody sitting next to him.

Yes, he was gay. And he liked Cody. There had been rumors about it, especially when the Awake-A-Thon incident had gone viral on Youtube. Ugh, even Superfan herself Sierra had questioned him about it. Noah had wanted to tell her very promptly to stay the hell away from him, but instead he settled with a disdainful, "It was nothing, fortunately for you." That's what you want right? Noah thought to himself. Thankfully, Cody had never brought these rumors up, and he didn't act at all uncomfortable when the two would hang out together.

Noah selected a song by Journey he had learned to play when he was fourteen.

Four chords into the song, Cody recognized it immediately. "Oh, wow, I love this song." More chords. "I never would have thought –"

"That I would like Journey," Noah finished. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Right on cue, Cody started singing. Noah thought that Cody was a great singer before when they had to sing for challenges, but now that it was just the two of them… wow. He had the voice of an angel. Cody had to be the best one of the guys, hands down. At least much better than Noah. God, he sounded just like a girl.

"Restless hearts sleep alone tonight," Cody continued singing in perfect pitch. "Sending all my love along the wire."

Noah's heart, if it wasn't beating fast before, was now hammering away against his ribs. It was a wonder he could keep focused enough to keep his fingers to the keys.

Cody stopped. "Sorry," he said with an embarrassed chuckle. "I'll stop if it annoys you." Noah couldn't believe it. Cody was actually _self-conscious_ of his perfect voice.

"No," Noah replied quickly. "It's fine. You're not terrible."

Cody was quiet for a moment. "Was that a compliment?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Noah lapsed into his usual indifferent tone.

"Oh, sure. For once Noah, who knows everything, doesn't know what I'm talking about," Cody teased.

"Just shut up and sing."

So he did. He sang the rest of the song absolutely perfectly. Noah tried to match his skill, but he played some sharps unintentionally at some points. He always did that when he was nervous, but he didn't like to show it. It made him feel sort of vulnerable.

"So how long did it take you to learn to play?" Cody asked when the song was finished.

Noah went back and started to play the bridge again in a higher key. "Eh, a while," Noah answered ambiguously.

"So how much do you think that someone like me could learn in a week?"

Noah stopped. "What are you saying?"

"… I guess I'm asking if you could teach me –"

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to ask!"

"I can assume," Noah went back to playing.

"But why won't you?" Cody asked.

Because, thought Noah. Because if I spend even more time alone with you, I'm going to lose all self-control and I'm going to do something drastic. Because if I do something drastic, you're going to stop being my friend. Because if you stop being my friend, I have no idea what I'll do…

"Why would I waste my time trying to teach you when you probably don't have the discipline, attention span, and mental capacity to learn how to play the piano?"

Cody's mouth gaped open. His gaze fell to the floor. Noah looked away from him. He regretted lashing out at him like that. Cody was so naïve and easily hurt. Noah was just being a jerk to protect him. But he was also trying to protect himself. He wouldn't be able to stand it if he lost his best friend.

Noah sighed. "Cody, I, err, I'm, uh, I'm sorry I said that." Cody looked up. "I'll even make it up to you by –" Noah sighed again, " –teaching you how to play the piano."

Cody's face brightened at once. "Really?"

Noah held a finger up. "But on one condition."

"Yeah, anything, dude."

"You have to teach me how to sing."

Cody tilted his head. "Why?"

"Why not? You're clearly the best male singer here, so I might as well learn from the best," Noah shelled out the compliment nonchalantly.

Cody grinned. "Thanks, Noah." He stuck out his hand. Noah just looked at it.

"Come on, we're making a deal, we have to shake on it. I won't bite," Cody insisted.

Noah stared at his hand for a moment longer, then smirked. He placed his hand in Cody's and shook. "It's a deal, then."

* * *

**I enjoy continuing this. Read, reveiw, comment, critique, favorite, subscribe, all that good junk. I'm going on vacation for a while, so upsating will not be as quick.**


	4. Chapter 3

**I found out, whilst perusing Formspring, that Sierra's favorite Total Drama couple is Noah and Cody. Go figure.  
I also found out that Noah's favorite instrument _is_, actually, the piano. Bam.  
Despite my uncanny ability to read Noah's mind, I still don't own TDWT.**

"This is so stupid."

"Suck it up."

_Why did I request this stipulation?_

After they made their deal, Cody asked (begged) Noah to start his lessons that night. He didn't realize that he wanted to learn to play the piano that badly. Why did he even want to learn? Noah agreed and starting with showing Cody where middle C was and how to play scales. That was fine. He'd had the upper hand then. Learning how to sing from Cody, however, was different.

The uncomfortable, vulnerable feeling that he got when he screwed up notes on the piano was amplified by about ten when he was receiving singing lessons from Cody. He made Noah stand up so that while he sang, he could check his _posture_. (Noah pointed out that when Cody was singing a few nights earlier he was _sitting_ on the piano bench, but Cody just told him to shut it.) Then, while still standing, Cody would hit a note on the piano, and Noah had to sing the note on "ah".

It was, to be frank, awkward. At least, to Noah. Cody was probably enjoying it. Noah failed the first exercise miserably. For some reason, he was sharp when he tried to hit the note Cody played. He could hear it himself. Failure was ringing in his ears and a blush stained his face.

"This is stupid."

"Suck it up. It's not stupid. Besides, I want to try and figure out why you're always going sharp," Cody continued. He played another note, E, which Noah again sang sharp.

_This is so uncomfortable_, Noah rolled his eyes as he sung. He didn't want anyone to see that he was capable of failing. Of course, he was human, which meant that _yes_, he was expected to make errors, but that didn't make it any easier for Noah to accept it. He especially didn't want _Cody_, whom he had such strong feelings for, see him mess up. Noah expected Cody to give him hell for it to get back at him for all the times that Noah pointed out Cody's flaws (although Cody's flaws were few, in Noah's mind). But Cody never said anything, aside from trying to fix it. He let Noah keep his dignity.

Cody looked at him with his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"What?"

"How is sound produced when you sing?" Cody asked.

"The vocal chords, of course."

"And where is that in your body?"

Noah rolled his eyes at such obvious questions. "Well, the vocal chords are located in your larynx, which is your throat."

Cody smiled knowingly. "I know why you're going sharp." He got up and stood in front of Noah. "You're focusing the sound in your throat." Cody touched Noah's throat with his index finger. "You have to imagine that the sound is being produced –" Cody placed his finger on Noah's lips. "at your lips."

The already deep blush on Noah's face turned even deeper when Cody's skin touched his. When he looked into his celurean blue eyes, he found them to be staring into his chocolate brown ones. He had to fight back the urge to kiss Cody fully on the lips.

"So you're telling me, that if I just use a little bit of _imagination_ that I will be in tune," Noah said, trying to sound disdainful.

"Well, that, and if you sing from your diaphragm," Cody unexpectedly poked him in the stomach. His hands instinctively went to his stomach and shrinked away. Moment over.

"Hey, cut it out," Noah glared at Cody. He just shrugged and sat back down at the piano bench and played a note for Noah to sing. Noah groaned in protest. "Can't we just take a break?"

"No," Cody smiled. "Not until you can hit some notes without going sharp." Noah narrowed his eyes at Cody, but he just put on his signature gap toothed smile. God, that was so cute. Noah was not going to win.

* * *

Noah sat down beside Cody on the bench after a half hour of singing. Despite his skepticism, imagining the sound at his lips actually made Noah sound a lot better. At first, Noah just rolled his eyes and sang normally. But after going sharp on ten more notes, Noah finally decided that he was humiliated enough to try Cody's technique. And finally, _finally_, Noah sang on key. Cody didn't waste any time saying, "I told you so," and Noah, although it took a lot of grumbling and pride-swallowing, eventually admitted to Cody that he was right. And in return, Cody finally let him take a break.

Cody put his fingers to the keys to play some scales. Even when he made mistakes, Noah had to admit, Cody sure was talented. His determination to learn fueled his already impressive musical ability. He was learning pretty fast. Noah watched as Cody skipped over a note, causing the scale to sound off. Cody frowned, his eyebrows knit together in concentration, and

tried again.

"Why do you want to learn how to play the piano so badly?" Noah voiced his curiosity. "It's not like it's an easy thing to do."

Cody stopped playing. He stared down at the keys. "Do you really want to know?" he asked Noah.

He now regretted asking, but nodded anyways. Cody looked nervous as he put his hand on the back of his neck. He could tell that Cody didn't really want to answer, and Noah was uncertain if he wanted to hear. Anything that could make him that uncomfortable had to be upsetting.

Cody breathed in. "Well –" and that's all he could get out before both Noah and Cody heard a third voice drift into the room.

"Cody? Is that you?"

The two exchanged wide eyed glances. _Sierra._

**Great. Sierra's going to come into the story and screw everything up... Or will she? (mostlikely!)  
So I've convinced myself that Noah only hugged Bridget because he was trying to make Cody jealous, after he and Sierra had a one-sided makeout session in a giant pinball. Then Cody PRETENDED to drown in the Yukon so that Sierra would save him, become all clingy, and NOAH would be jealous. Ah, amazing what a fangirl can convince herself of. XD  
Read, review, comment, critique, favorite, subscribe, fangirl squee, repeat. :)**


	5. Chapter 4

****

**After a FOREVER AND A HALF, here is finally the fourth installment. It's long and suspenseful, so I hope that makes up for the wait.**

**I do not own Total Drama World Tour. (I'm running out of creative ways to say that.)**

* * *

"I can hear your voice, my Codykins…"

Cody looked all around the room for an exit, but only found one, which Sierra was going to walk through any minute. Panicking, Cody couldn't think of what to do. He considered what would happen if he didn't do anything. In his mind, he saw a picture of Earth, and in the next moment, it blew up in a fiery explosion. Yeah, that pretty much summed it up.

"Cody, where are you?" Sierra was much closer now, by the sound of it. Noah looked at him.

"Don't be an idiot!" Cody's mind snapped back into action when he heard his voice. "Hide!" he hissed before pushing him off the piano bench and onto the floor. Cody took Noah's advice and hid under Chris's bed a split second before Sierra walked in.

"Oh," Cody heard Sierra say with disappointment. "Hi, Noah. Have you seen Cody? I could have sworn I heard him back here." Cody lifted the edge of the bed cover to watch what was happening.

"No, unfortunately for you, Sierra, your hyper sensitive stalker ears have failed you this time," Noah managed to maintain his calm demeanor, despite having to hide Cody like a fugitive.

"Oh… okay," Sierra said. "What are you doing in Chris's room anyways?"

"I'm contemplating whether or not global warming exists and the effects of it on the planet for future generations," Noah said.

Sierra laughed. "LOL, Noah! You always have a sarcastic remark ready."

Noah rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed.

"But anyways," Sierra continued. "What is the Man of Mystery _really _doing back here?" Her gaze shifted to the baby grand. "Playing the piano?"

"No," Noah said quickly.

"That's strange. It doesn't say on any fan site I've seen that you know how to play."

"I don't."

"Oh, Noah, don't be modest. It's not in your character, and trust me, I would know," Sierra said.

Noah raised one eyebrow and shrank away from her. "Um –"

"I knew it! You do know how to play the piano! The "um" gave it away. Oh, this is so going on my website!"

"Wonderful."

Cody didn't get to hear the rest of Noah and Sierra's conversation. He was too focused on the spider that was crawling near his hand. It was the kind of spider that he was highly allergic to. If he got bitten, he would have to use his epipen as soon as possible, but it was in his bag in first class, and there was no way that Cody could get out of the room without Sierra glomping him. So Cody was left to fend off the spider. He tried to blow it away, but the spider was surprisingly unaffected by the strong headwind.

"Shoo," Cody mouthed to the spider. "Go away!" But it just kept crawling closer to him. Cody looked around for something that he could use to squish it, but with no luck. Cody gulped and looked away, eyes screwed shut as he brought his bare hand down on the spider. He smashed it a few more times. Finally, he lifted up his hand and found the spider remains plastered to his palm.

"Ew!" he couldn't help but say quietly.

Sierra suddenly stopped whatever tangent she was on. Cody gasped, realized that he had just doomed himself.

"Are you sure you haven't seen Cody at all?" Sierra asked Noah.

"This is the third time you've asked me," Noah replied.

"Fourth."

"…What?"

"This is the fourth time I asked you."

"Err, right," Noah continued. Sierra started moving closer to the bed. Beneath it, Cody inched his way ever so quietly to the opposite edge so he could make a break for it if she looked under the bed. He saw her feet, and then her legs as she knelt down. Then, with expert timing that could only be written about, Cody rolled out from under the bed a millisecond before Sierra lifted up the bed cover.

"Gotcha!" Sierra cried just as Cody stood up and tried to find _yet another _hiding spot. He turned, and behind him was a closet. He mentally slapped himself. Why didn't he hide there in the _first place_?

"Huh, I could have sworn that I heard him," said a very confused Sierra. She stood up as Cody closed the closet door.

"I bet you could smell him, too," Noah said sarcastically.

"Actually, I think I did, if only for a minute," Sierra replied seriously. Cody, even thought he couldn't see him, imagined that Noah had just raised an eyebrow to that creepy comment.

Sierra leaned against the closet door. Cody nearly screamed in fear, but he stuffed his fist in his mouth before he could.

"Noah, you don't mind if I talk to you about Cody, do you?"

"Actually, I was just about to call it a night –"

"Oh, he's so cute! One day, I'm going to marry him!"

"So I've heard…" Noah said.

"And we're going to have a big family with lots and lots of babies!"

In the closet, Cody gulped.

"We're going to have the cutest babies ever, 'cause Cody will be the cutest _husband_ ever! Everything about him is so adorable, don't you think, Noah?"

"Simply adorable."

Cody's stomach flip-flopped. He groaned in his head. He was _not_ going to think about this right now. But Noah had just said that Cody was adorable… _Just to get Sierra off his back!_ Cody told himself immediately. This meant nothing, dammit.

"Especially his eyes. And his hair. Oh, and his gap-toothed smile!"

"Y'know, I was just thinking the exact same thing," Noah added sarcastically.

Cody nearly fainted. Instead he just inwardly sighed. Even thought he knew he didn't really mean it, it felt good to hear Noah say those words in response to his stalker.

"Hey, what was that?"

"What?"

"I think I just saw Cody walk back from the bathroom," Noah said. _Finally!_ Cody screamed in his head.

Sierra squealed. "Really? Thanks, Noah!" Cody heard rapid footsteps, growing fainter and fainter.

"Wait," Noah's low voice was on the other side of the door. Cody assumed it was directed at him. He waited. After what seemed like forever, Cody put his ear up against the door to see if he had missed something. The door swung open and Cody flew out of the closet, landing face down on the carpet.

"You okay?" Noah asked as he helped Cody to his feet.

"Thanks for the warning! What were you waiting for?"

"I wanted to make sure that she wasn't coming back."

"Oh," Cody said before he leaned back against the wall and slid to the floor. Noah sat across from him with his back propped against the side of the bed.

"Every part of that charade," Noah said, "was way too close."

"I know," Cody said. "My adrenaline is pumping. I won't be able to go back to sleep _now_." He looked at his watch. "Ugh, and it'll be morning soon. I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow."

"Me too," Noah said. "No point in going back to sleep."

"So what do you want to do now?" Cody asked Noah.

He thought for a moment before laughing. "So what are you and Sierra going to name your babies?"

As Noah kept laughing, Cody flushed and glared at him. "That's not funny!" he insisted.

"It's hilarious! When she was standing at the closet door, oh my God, I thought she was going to get a contact high!"

"I'm serious, Noah, it's not funny!" Cody said, but he couldn't help a smile from forming on the corner of his mouth.

"Hey, at least now I know what to get you for your birthday," Noah held his sides as he laughed. "A rape whistle!"

Cody burst into laughter. "She's so weird!"

After an hour of the two of them taking jabs at Sierra, and then lapsing into a comfortable silence, Cody gazed at Noah, who was still laughing lightly with his eyes closed. He wished he could have this all the time. This moment in time was wonderful. He didn't have to worry about anything. He could just be carefree with his best friend. That's why he felt the way he did about Noah. He knew that he could just be himself when he was around him. He didn't have to worry about what he said or did or what he didn't say or didn't do. He could just be… at ease.

"Hey Cody?" Noah asked.

"Yeah?"

"Before we were so rudely interrupted, I had asked you why you wanted to learn how to play the piano, and you never answered," said Noah.

Cody bit his lip. This feeling that he was at ease could be ruined in just a few simple words. He held back. He wasn't ready. "It wasn't anything major."

Cody waited for a response from Noah, but he simply nodded and looked at the wall behind me through the window. He thought that this meant that Noah understood that he didn't want to talk about it.

"Hey, look," Noah pointed at the window.

"What?" Cody turned.

The darkness was lifting. The empty space in the sky was starting to turn a dark cobalt blue, contrasting beautifully with the clouds, which were stained a brilliant burnt orange. Sunrise.

"Oh." There was nothing else really to be said. "Oh."

* * *

**Like I say every time at this point in your reading, read, reveiw, critique, favorite, subscribe, squee, and tell me anything you would like to see done better: getting into character, language, direct and indrect-ness, even humor. I love feedback, and I read every single comment, even if I don't reply.**


	6. Chapter 5

**I just rewatched the Alps episode. So much NoCo. :3  
The last installment of Sharps. :'( single tear... But don' worry, this is certainly not the last you've seen from Yellow Sunflower!  
Oh, aaaaand I don't own TDWT.**

* * *

"Noah? …Noah, are you awake?"

Oh, he was awake alright. Noah was just _ignoring_ Cody. He wasn't in the best of moods after the last couple of episodes. It seemed that his mood got worse the longer he stayed on Total Drama World Tour. There was nothing that he looked forward to when he woke up in the morning anymore. He just wanted to go home and forget that this whole thing had ever happened.

And what had brought about this newfound state of contempt towards the world? His own damn naiveté. Noah thought that things were going to start to turn in his favor ever since he and Cody had been together to watch the sunrise. But no. He had been wrong. Things were _not_ looking in his favor, nor would they _ever_ do so.

Before the second part of their challenge in the Alps, Chris had announced that as the losing penalty, one team member from Team Amazon would have to wear lederhosen. Noah smirked; it was going to be a hilarious sight for anyone to have to wear those. But then Noah heard Cody say to Sierra, "Those lederhosen would make you look really hot." Unbelievable. After all the two of them had said about Sierra the night before, Cody turns around and says something like this. At least karma was at work that day. Noah didn't even know what Cody thought about Sierra anymore.

Why did he ever think that Cody would ever feel the same way he did? Or, to go even farther, why would he ever think that Cody would be bisexual?

In the next episode in the Amazon, when Cody and the rest of his team got captured by the Zing-Zings, Noah couldn't deny that he was a tiny bit worried about him. But then Gwen reached in Cody's back pocket to find a flashlight for batteries, or something like that… the details on that were still a little fuzzy to Noah. And later, as they all were getting back on the plane, Cody was _bragging_ to Tyler about how Gwen practically touched his butt.

What was going on? Cody had revealed to Noah the first night that he actually _didn't_ have a crush on Gwen. So what the hell was he doing telling everyone that Gwen "touched" his butt? He didn't understand. Which side was true: the side of Cody that Noah saw, this down-to-earth, adorable, kind, innocent guy, or the side of Cody that he showed everyone else, a two-faced, bragging, misleading hypocrite? Everything he said might as well have been a lie.

"Noah, are you asleep?" Cody asked again.

_Go away_, Noah thought. Couldn't he see that he obviously _was_ asleep?

Cody poked him hard in the ribs.

Noah groaned, finally giving up the charade. "What, Cody? What do you want?" he hissed.

He could see that Cody immediately regretted waking him up. "I was just, um… wondering if you wanted to give me some more lessons –"

"No," Noah replied in a flat whisper before closing his eyes again.

"But why?"

"Because, Cody, I'm tired and all I want to do is go home!" Noah snapped.

Cody was quiet for a long time. "What happened?" he finally whispered.

"Why would you even care?"

"Because I- … you're my best friend, Noah!" Cody whispered loudly. A few people shifted and murmured in their sleep.

"Go away." Noah whispered quietly. "Everyone's going to wake up because of you."

Cody looked at everyone else before looking back at Noah. He closed his eyes and reassumed sleeping position. When Noah opened an eye, he saw Cody storming off quietly into Chris's room. Noah rolled his eyes and followed him.

"You know, you can be so stubborn sometimes," Noah said standing at the door. Cody was seated at the piano bench with his hands poised over the keys.

"Well, if you're not going to teach me, fine then, I'll teach myself," Cody said back.

Noah snorted and sat on the bench. "I'd like to see you try."

"Okay, what is your _problem_? What happened between the other night and now that turned you into such a jerk?" Cody asked.

"You really want to know what my problem is? Okay then, I'll tell you: _you're _the problem, Cody." He flinched when he heard that, but Noah continued nonetheless. "You led me to believe that you were this down-to-earth, kind and innocent guy, but then you turn around and, come to find out, you're the exact opposite of who I thought you were."

Cody looked at Noah, confused. "Okay, you're losing me here."

"It's not that hard to follow, genius. You tell me that you don't like Gwen anymore, then you go and talk big about how she _so_ wants you because she "touched" –loose term there –your butt. You tell me that Sierra was weird and that you would never whatsoever make a move on her, then you turn around and tell her that she would look super mega foxy awesome hot in lederhosen."

"I never said 'super mega foxy awesome hot'!" Cody protested. "That was just to –" Cody stopped, his expression slowly changing. "Why do you even care so much?"

Great. Noah sort of realized that by saying all of that, it would have given away his feelings for him, but it didn't really strike him as a big concern. He was just so _angry_, the risk wasn't exactly at the front of his mind.

"I… I don't." Oh, _that_ ought to convince him.

"I'm not so convinced," Cody said. "I think it's because you're jealous."

Noah blushed, but tried to ignore it, "Please, like I'd waste my time being jealous. Why would I be _jealous_ anyways?"

"I don't know," Cody leaned closer. "You tell me."

When Cody was inches away from him, Noah narrowed his eyes. "Stop it."

"What?"

"You're making fun of me. You may think you're being funny but you're not, you're just being a jerk."

Cody leaned away. "I am so confused."

"I will admit: I am jealous. I'm jealous because I can't stand seeing you with other girls. I like you, okay? But that doesn't even matter anymore because you've changed, not for the better, might I add."

Cody was quiet for a moment. Noah assumed that he was trying to find a way to let him down easy. Or what the most effective way to crush him brutally. Either way.

"You know, I never told you why I wanted to learn how to play the piano," Cody said as he struck middle C.

"…What does that have to do with anything?" Noah asked, starting to get annoyed.

"I wanted to learn how to play because you knew how to play," Cody looked at him apologetically. Noah's annoyance was suspended for a moment. "After the whole… Awake-A-Thon thing happened, you wanted to forget about me. For the rest of the season, you flat out ignored me. Same thing with the Aftermath episodes. You wanted to forget me, but I didn't want to forget _you_. When we were hanging out the first night, I was so happy that for once you weren't pretending that I didn't exist. I had the idea of you giving me piano lessons, so that we would be able to spend more time together. The opportunity presented itself, and I took it. So sue me.

"Oh, and by the way, I wasn't making fun of you. I feel the same way about you. I just… I don't really know what that means for me, if I'm gay, if I'm straight, if I'm bi. So I've been making sure lately that everyone thinks I'm straight, and that meant complimenting Sierra and making a big deal about Gwen. I mean, I'm supposed to be straight, right? I don't want anyone to find out that I might not be. But whatever happens, the real me is who I am when I'm with you, not what I may show to everyone else. I don't have to ever keep my guard up when I'm with you, and I don't have to worry about what you think about me."

After hearing all of that come out, Noah realized that he had just made a huge mistake, going off on Cody like that. He _was_ being a jerk, just like Cody said he was.

"Cody, I am so sorry," Noah said, and he found that this time, the apology flowed very easily from his mouth. "I've been acting like such a jerk for nothing.

"I should be the one apologizing. Like you said, I've been telling you one thing, but then doing the opposite. It's so… deceitful. I'm really sorry."

Something occurred to Noah. "Somewhere in that speil, you _did_ say that you liked me, right?"

Cody smiled and nodded, blushing slightly.

"Well, then, I forgive you," Noah smiled. He leaned in closer to Cody and brushed his lips against his. Noah could tell that Cody was somewhat surprised at first, but then he closed his eyes and sighed through his nose. Noah closed his eyes too and savored the moment for as long as he could.

After a while, Cody pulled away. "Hey Noah?"

"Mm?"

"Will you," Cody bit his lip, "will you play me a song?"

Noah smiled before turning his body to the keys. He started with a few keys before asking, "Know that one?" Cody shook his head. Noah moved to a lower set of keys.

"How about that one?"

"Uh-uh."

Noah switched to another song. Cody smiled as he recognized "Your Song" by Elton John. "I know this one," Cody said. "Actually, it's one of my favorites."

* * *

In the front of the plane, Chris and Chef had their feet propped up on the control panel while watching the security cameras with buckets of popcorn in their laps. They both had their gazes fixed on one of the screens to the left that showed the interior of Chris's room. There sat Cody and Noah on the piano bench. Chris and Chef had witnessed the two kiss minutes earlier. Not only that, but they had watched their entire relationship develop over the many late nights they had spent together.

Chris turned to Chef. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Chef finished chewing his popcorn and swallowed. "Spin-off series?"

Chris nodded. "Spin-off series."

* * *

**That's it! Comment, critique, reveiw, subscribe, favorite, etc., etc...**


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